Social anxiety and strain toward symmetry in dyadic attraction.

Abstract

Asked undergraduates (N = 103) who were high and low in social anxiety (as measured by the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale and Fear of Negative Evaluation scale) to describe actual attraction relationships characterized by asymmetry. Affective responses and levels of desired liking in each type of relationship were assessed. Although results generally support balance theory, strain toward symmetry was more evident when emitted liking exceeded perceived liking (negative asymmetry) than under conditions of positive asymmetry. Under positive asymmetry, only females demonstrated differential affective responses to increased or decreased asymmetry, while both sexes exhibited the expected pattern of responses under conditions of negative asymmetry. As predicted, social anxiety significantly affected the level of desired liking under the disapproval-salient condition of negative asymmetry. Under such conditions, high-anxiety Ss tended to sacrifice symmetry in favor of greater liking from the other. Data are also presented which indicate that the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale may be successfully used to identify anxious Ss who receive low-anxiety scores because of defensiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)